


family don't end in blood

by eunseo



Series: a little sunshine never hurt anybody (Johnny-centric) [1]
Category: Graceland (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Platonic Relationships, Running Away, johnny centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 15:53:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1988880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eunseo/pseuds/eunseo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Set directly before Johnny's speech in "King's Castle", very minor spoilers.</p><p>He gets the duffle bag that's under a pile of clothes in his closet and packs some clothes. He only packs enough to last him a few days, a week at most. It's all he needs, really. In this field, it's not like he can just run away and never come back. It just doesn't happen, and it's not like he wants to, anyway. He just needs to clear his head a little. He gets his toothbrush, an ID, and some spare cash. He won't risk taking his credit card because he knows when the group looks for him, they'll check if his credit card has been active or not. </p><p>Or, the one where Johnny runs away for a few days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	family don't end in blood

Johnny curls and uncurls his fists, barely managing to keep himself from punching a wall. His nose throbs from when Jakes punched him just moments ago, but he's not bleeding, so he's taking that as a good sign. He looks at the bounce house, thinks of how excited he was that he had an opportunity to throw a party for the group, not just Jakes. He wonders how this night turned to chaos so fast.

He goes up the stairs to the second floor to make sure everyone listens.

"Hey, all y'all, listen up!" No one opens their doors, but he knows they heard him. "Hey, you know, none of us asked to be here. But, damn it, here we are! You know you could all run around pretending like we're not a family, but guess what? That's what you call six people all living in one house!" He sighs, tired of being angry, of the anger and distrust that surrounds him. He knows his voice is bitter and resentful, but he feels like he's allowed to be angry right now. He starts again, quieter this time. "Damn it, guys. We got a job where, every freakin' day, we're out there playing bosom buddies with killers and drug dealers. So excuse the hell out of me if I'm looking for an excuse to forget about all that! Is that too much to ask for?"

The doors remain closed, and he stands in the same place, defeated, before walking off to his bedroom. He gets the duffle bag that's under a pile of clothes in his closet and packs some clothes. He only packs enough to last him a few days, a week at most. It's all he needs, really. In this field, it's not like he can just run away and never come back. It just doesn't happen, and it's not like he wants to, anyway. He just needs to clear his head a little. He gets his toothbrush, his state I.D, and some spare cash. He won't risk taking his credit card because he knows when the group looks for him, they'll check if his credit card has been active or not.

He waits until a little after four to leave, just to make sure everyone's already asleep. When he gets downstairs, he wants to get an ice pack, but he knows he won't use it anyway because it'll obscure his vision when he tries to drive.

It takes two hours of driving to reach his destination: a little hotel that's nice enough to stay at, but not extravangant enough to be famous. He's exhausted by the time he gets there, but it was nice to watch the sun rise. The only person in the lobby is the receptionist, and he's holding a cup of coffee like it's his lifeline. Johnny asks for a room with a single bed, shows his I.D, and pays for a five-day stay.

"Hey, where can I get some ice?" The man looks at his nose briefly before pulling a cloth from somewhere under the counter and making Johnny an ice pack. He takes it gratefully, and winces when he presses it to his nose. It hardly hurts after two hours, but he wants to keep the swelling to a minimum.

"There's a first-aid kit here," the man says gesturing towards the counter.

Johnny shakes his head. "It's alright, man, but thanks."

"Call the lobby if you need anything," the receptionist says, and Johnny knows he's not saying it just because he has to.

He nods, and smiles again before going to the second floor to look for his room. It's not too hard to find it, only a few feet away from the elevator. He drops his duffle bag by his bed, strips off his shirt and pants, falls into bed, and promptly falls asleep.

  
+

  
Charlie is the first one to wake up, naturally. She feels guilty about last night, what with destroying the bounce house and all. She knows it's way too early for Johnny to be awake, but she walks to his bedroom anyways, if only to calm her nerves. The guilt is settled uncomfortably in her chest, and when she opens the door to find that Johnny isn't inside, it spreads like wildfire until she can't bear to look at his empty bed anymore.

She bangs on Jakes' door, remembering that he was the last person who talked to Johnny. He opens it moments later, looking angry as ever, though his glare falters once he sees Charlie's face.

She points a finger at him, her nail digging lightly into his chest. "Whatever you said to him, whatever you did, you better fucking fix it and soon because if I find out that Johnny got hurt after he packed a bag and left, you're gonna _wish_ you could switch places with Mike."

It's an empty threat. No matter how worried and angry she is, she would never deliberately hurt anyone in the team. Nonetheless, the threat scares Jakes, at least a little, and that gives Charlie a small sense of satisfaction.

"What do you mean 'left'?" Jakes asks cautiously.

"Why don't you look for yourself?" She replies bitterly before walking off to wake up the rest of the house.

  
+

  
By the time Johnny wakes up, it's well past two in the afternoon, and he spares a fleeting thought for his undoubtedly messed up sleeping pattern. He finds that he has twenty-two missed calls, and he turns off his phone without hesitation. After inspecting his nose and deciding that it doesn't look too bad, he gets ready, stops for a quick breakfast- lunch- at the hotel, then goes to the beach. He spends his time joining football games with strangers. He flirts with a few girls, and at nine, he has dinner in the hotel again. It's blessedly calm, and he wishes he could get accustomed to this life, its carefree nature, but he knows he'd grow bored of it eventually. For now, though, it's exactly what he needs and he can breathe easy for a while.

When he gets back to his room, he starts up his laptop and watches romantic comedies on Netflix to pass the time. At one, he turns on his phone, and now there's over sixty missed calls, seventeen voicemails, and 47 texts. He feels a touch of guilt at making his friends worry so much, which is why when Mike calls two minutes later, he picks up.

"Johnny, holy shit, finally, are you okay? Where are you? Everyone's out look-"

"Mike," Johnny says loudly enough to silence Mike.

"Yeah?"

"I'll be back in a few days, I promise. I'm alright, man. Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"Mikey," he sighs. "I just need some head space, you know?"

"I know," Mike replies, quietly.

"Good. I'll be back soon. Get some sleep, dude."

"You too. Bye, Johnny."

He hangs up without another word; he's not angry anymore, not at Mike, at least, he just feels drained by how awfully things turned out. One day, he was trying to do something nice for his friends, the next he's miles away in a location unknown to them. He turns off his phone again, showers, and goes to sleep.

+

  
"Any word on Johnny?" Charlie asks Mike as her and the rest of the group walk into the house after having spent hours searching for Johnny (they'd asked Mike to stay home in case he came back).

"He picked up. He said he'll be back in a couple of days," Mike replied, turning his phone absently in his hands.

 "Did he say anything else?" Paige asks, stepping forward and sitting next to him on the couch.

"He said he needs some head space," he mumbles.

Charlie goes to sit close to Paige and Mike, and the others follow. No one bothers to go to their rooms and they all fall asleep in the living room, trying to find comfort in each other.

  
+

  
This time, when Johnny wakes up, there's missed calls, but not nearly as many now that they're no longer in a panic to find out if he's okay.

He does the same thing he did the day before, and it becomes his routine for the next three days. He goes out, spends most of his day at the beach, then goes on Netflix until he's tired. He has sex with a few girls, and one guy who was more than happy to go down on his knees for him. He feels like he should probably think about why he let a guy blow him, but he was a little drunk when it happened, and they both enjoyed it, and he accepts that he's not as straight as he thought he was.

Overall, he feels lonely most of the time that he's away and he misses everyone, but he made one life changing realization, and he feels ready to go home now, so he's glad he got away for a bit.

He checks out late at night on the fifth day, smiles at the receptionist and starts driving. After the two hour drive, he's finally back where he belongs. It's late, and he's tired, and he figures he won't see anyone until the morning.

He's proven wrong, though, when he finds Mike sitting on the couch, playing games on his phone. He looks up from his phone quickly, and smiles brightly when he sees Johnny standing in the doorway.

"You're back," he gets up from the couch slowly, so as to not stretch his stitches too much.

"I'm back, bro," Johnny smiles at him, and he leans into the touch when Mike hugs him.

"I'm sorry about what happened."

"I know," Johnny replies.

They stay there for a little longer in silence until Mike begins again. "I don't know about the others, but you're my family, alright, and nothing's ever gonna change that, Johnny."

Johnny doesn't say anything, just nods against Mike's shoulder and holds on to him a little tighter. If Mike feels tears wetting the shirt he's wearing, he doesn't mention it.

  
+

  
In the morning, Charlie and Paige come downstairs at the same time to find Johnny coming out of the kitchen with a bottle of water and they _pounce_. They're on him in a second and the three of them fall on the floor, but Johnny doesn't mind because they're both apologizing and trying to hug him, no matter how awkward the angle may be, and he feels Charlie press a kiss to his forehead. Once he puts his arms around the both of them, he realizes how much he really missed them. He kisses both of their heads and smiles when he says "I love you both."

"We love you too, Johnny, don't ever doubt that," Paige replies.

  
+

  
The next person he sees is Paul. He's unpacking, and he left the door to his room open, so when Briggs walks by, he does a double take.

"You're back," he seems startled, like he expected Johnny to be gone longer.

"I'm back," he repeats, waiting to see what Paul does.

He walks in the room and sits next to Johnny on the bed.

"You were right. We all pretend to not be a family, we acted like six people that were just pushed together instead of friends. I'm sorry it took you going MIA for us to realize that."

"But you realized it, eventually. Maybe we can do something about now."

"Yeah...we did. I'm glad you're back," Paul says. He puts a hand on Johnny's shoulder and squeezes lightly before walking out.

  
+

  
The last person that greets him is Jakes. He's in the kitchen while everyone else is in the living room, except Jakes who hasn't come down from his room.

"You guys drank all the orange juice," he calls out to them.

"We were planning on going grocery shopping soon, sorry, Johnny," Paige calls out from her spot on the couch.

"You can have some of mine," Jakes replies as he comes down the stairs.

"You sure, man?" Johnny asks warily. It's not every day that Jakes offers to share things.

"Yeah, go ahead." He realizes that's as much of an apology as he's gonna get from Jakes, so he sends him a (very) tentative smile, and he receives the same smile in return.

He's glad to be back.

 


End file.
